1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fuel system for internal combustion engines and, in particular, to a fuel delivery supply system for vaporizing fuel and supplying vapors to a combustion engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is generally known and recognized in the art that fuel burns more efficiently in an internal combustion engine if it is preheated and vaporized prior to combustion. It has been found that in the vapor state, the burning of fuel in the combustion chambers is more complete, leading to greater fuel economy and lower exhaust emissions. Accordingly, there have been various systems developed which vaporize liquid fuel and mix the fuel vapor with air by means of a vapor carburetor, such as a conventional liquid petroleum gas (LP gas) carburetor in order to operate the internal combustion engine. Many of these systems require the use of electrical heat elements in order to heat the liquid fuel to a temperature sufficient to achieve vaporization. This is normally achieved using the vehicle's electrical power to activate the heat elements. The liquid gasoline is usually vaporized in a chamber containing the electrical heat elements, such that when gas is supplied to the chamber, the heat elements provide sufficient heat to achieve vaporization. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,633 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,616.
Other systems in the related art require specially designed accessory components or attachments which are not of common manufacture, and therefore, not available for mass commercial use. An example of this type of system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,516 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,501.
Further, none of the systems in the prior art provide means for separating vaporized fuel from liquid fuel after heating, wherein the liquid fuel is cooled and subsequently returned to the fuel supply (i.e. gas tank or main fuel line) for reuse.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a fuel delivery system for use with an internal combustion engine which provides a simple, efficient method of vaporizing liquid gasoline and delivering the fuel vapor to the combustion chambers of the engine for use during post-warmup operating conditions.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a fuel delivery system which effectively reduces the rate of fuel consumption of an internal combustion engine without loss of power.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a fuel delivery system which is specifically designed to reduce harmful exhaust emissions by as much as 90%.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fuel delivery system for vaporizing fuel and delivering the fuel vapor to the combustion chambers of a combustion engine, wherein the system uses component parts and materials of common manufacture which are readily available in the industry and easily adaptable to an existing combustion engine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fuel delivery system which is specifically adapted for use with an existing internal combustion engine, wherein liquid gasoline is vaporized using the exhaust heat from the engine and further wherein unvaporized fuel is separated from vaporized fuel and cooled for subsequent return to the fuel supply.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a fuel delivery supply system including a main fuel line and an alternate fuel, wherein liquid gasoline is delivered to an internal combustion engine for startup and warmup of the engine and further wherein the fuel supply is subsequently transferred to the alternate fuel line and vaporized so that fuel vapor is delivered to the combustion engine during all post-warmup operating conditions.
It is still another object o f the present invention to provide a fuel delivery supply system which is easily and efficiently installed in vehicles having a combustion engine and which includes an electric flow control valve which can be either manually controlled or automatically controlled through the use of sensors and switch devices.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent in the description which follows.